Eng 2013 - Lake Day

Emma Young

Julia Paganelli Marín

ENGL 2013

February 3, 2018

Lake Day

My whole body was wobbling. I clung onto the railing next to me for support. A high-pitched squeaking noise echoed in my ears making me cringe. I glanced over to see my brother boarding the boat and Taylor grabbing his hand for stability. Metal poles were leaping in and out of the water rapidly grinding causing a horrible noise to dance around us. This tended to happen whenever boats drove too close to the dock creating massive waves and headaches for us all. I looked up to notice the clouds hung over grey and gloomy. Then I felt wind as it was whipping our hair and pulling on our clothes as if to warn us about the trouble to come. My first mistake was choosing to ignore these signs.

        My brother, Richard, had just gotten his boating license and was desperate to take his girlfriend Taylor on the lake. He drove us to the sandbar which was the most popular destination. The engine noise calmed down as the boat came to a stop. The feeling of warm water splashed back all over me as I dropped the anchor overboard. The sun started to peak its face over the dark clouds leaving our bodies with warmth. My body sunk down onto the front seat of the boat as I tried to tan. Every muscle in my body slowly felt nonexistent. My eyelids became heavy and my breathing slowed down immensely. Not realizing how relaxed I had become I dozed off engulfing myself in the serenity of it all. However, the nap was short lived. My ears perked up to the laughter and screams of people nearby. I glanced up to see a boat full of kids that looked not much older than my brother. I looked back at my brother making a skeptical face towards the people as they were driving on top of the sandbar. This made it very apparent they had never been on this lake before. The people around us were yelling at them in anger. “There are children swimming out here!” They exclaimed. However, the people in the boat didn’t seem to care. They just keep driving in and out drinking what looked like liquor. My brother, a very easy-going person didn’t seem to get mad or didn’t show it at the time. Eventually, I got into the green and blue water. The water was layered from lukewarm on the top to ice cold on my feet. It was a strange feeling, but this is how we knew they were putting in more water from the damn. The bottoms of my ankles were lightly being pushed by the current of the new water. Hours seemed to pass as I sat there letting the refreshing water sway my body. That’s when I heard it again. A boat engine roared forcing my head to snap into that direction. Her arms were grasping onto the railings while half of her body was engulfed in the water. A smile stretched across her face as she screamed unaware of the danger she has put herself in. My body skittishly jumped back into the boat shaking. My face morphed into something I never experienced. I was horrified. To my relief my brother had the same feelings and emotions running ramped in his mind unable to control the expressions his body was making. The boat jolted making a sudden forceful stop leading the girl to plunge into the water unharmed. Boat engines muffled starting up beginning to leave after this spectacle. We didn’t know whether we should stay, but we decided not to leave and enjoy the rest of our day. This was the second biggest mistake I’ve made.

        After a while, my fingers felt funny and had looked like raisins. I could feel the heat off of my brothers back from where the sun was kissing him. Taylor’s pale face was hard making her look bored and dissatisfied. The sun was even tired for it had disappeared and hidden behind clouds once again. We were preparing to leave when suddenly we heard chanting. I glanced over to see the same reckless teenagers as before. We couldn’t make out what they were saying only that they seemed riled up. I sat back down because a tiny part of me was curious to see what they had in mind now. Instead of watching them we all had a conversation which now seems meaningless because I can’t even remember. We all three turned back over and that’s when I saw them. Jumping up and down pointing across the lake at one of the rock cliffs. I was still confused unsure of their intentions. I didn’t even care to steady my attention towards them. That’s when I heard a giant splash. One of them had dove off the boat and then another and another. They started ferociously swimming water was being thrown all around them. “FLOATIE! FLOTIE!” one of them yelled. All of the sudden I could make out what they were doing. I looked down to see actual goosebumps had formed and chills were spreading throughout my body. It felt like I had submerged from a hot tub to the winter air. My body was numb yet stinging at the same time. They couldn’t be doing this I thought. I looked over at the only other boat left to see the man’s bewildered expression. We were all frozen. My body was screaming at me to move but I couldn’t. “FLOTIE!” they screamed in agony again. The other two boys, his friends, had left him swimming back to their boat. My brother was the only one who could move into action. I watched him plummet off of the boat into the water swimming towards the man. His whole body was tensed as he swam his shoulder blade muscles bulging and he parted the water around him. The people on the boat decided they couldn’t wait any longer so the start of a boat engine came to life driving towards their helpless friend. In their attempt to help they didn’t care that my brother was underneath the water swimming in the same direction. “Richard!” I screamed over and over frantically. Blood was rushing to my head causing me to feel sick and faint all at once. Taylor stood up grabbing the railing her grip causing her hands to turn pink and then white all over again. Brown hair popped out of the water just in time to see the boat skid right in front of where his next strokes would have been. Blood started to flow back to my fingers and toes creating a stinging feeling. However, the pounding in my head wouldn’t leave anytime soon because I was still reminded of the man in the water. His friends killed the boat engine and started jumping in searching for him. All I could see were bodies splashing around in the water and I could hear the sobs of a girl on the boat wrapped in a towel.